Town of Lewiston election: Janese ahead of Trane; Morreale holds on

by jmaloni

Tue, Nov 10th 2015 05:10 pm

On hand to count the absentee and affidavit ballots Tuesday were Democrat Party Chairwoman Diane Perri Roberts and John DelMonte, far side of the table; candidate Dave Trane; and Republican Party Chairman Jerry Wolfgang and Damon DeCastro.

Following more than three hours of
absentee and affidavit ballot tabulations inside the Niagara County Board of
Elections Tuesday, Republican Town of Lewiston Highway Superintendent Doug
Janese has taken a four-vote lead over Dave Trane. Newcomer Rob Morreale,
meanwhile, has taken an eight-vote lead for the second available Town Board
seat.

The election results are not
official, and the Democratic Party may contest 14 disqualified affidavits on
behalf of Trane, who led Janese by 29 votes on Election Day.

Janese earned 1,765 votes, edging
ahead of Trane (1,761) in the final few district tallies.

Morreale had a 20-vote lead over
fellow Democrat Francine DelMonte last Tuesday. He now has 1,642 votes,
slightly more than DelMonte's 1,634 and incumbent Republican Bill Conrad's 1,606.
Republican Bill Geiben handily took one board seat. He was the top vote-getter
with 1,879.

Those seeking an opportunity to vote, whose names do not appear in a poll book, are given an affidavit. Seven affidavits were counted, including one that was approved by the two Niagara County Board of Elections chairwomen after the initial tally.

One hundred and sixty-nine absentee ballots were counted. Eight were ruled invalid.